Like Kelly suggested in there, we keep a reference sheet to the 10 Step Study Guide for studying the words. But, after a while the steps become routine and we don't always refer to it. The SP book (4th edition) has a ready made chart to use like that. And yes, they are on the teacher resource CD-rom that comes with 4th edition or is in the back of the 3rd edition to be copied.

Basically it's like Kelly said, but it helps to have the book in front of you.
Get the Quick Start DVD. It explains it with simple words and has a video demonstration of a student using it. 4th edition of SP is sold with the DVD, or it can be purchased separately (from the SP publisher) if you have another edition. Just have the book in front of you as you watch the video and try it along with it.

It really isn't that hard and the MFW teacher's manual break it down even easier :) The "hard" part is getting a starting level. don't judge the Group Levels (those are A, B, C, .... K) by the first 5 word groups which are just covering short vowel words. Those short vowel words are great for getting the hang of the program.

We do a couple of things different than Kelly. My ds is in 3rd grade and is slightly behind in spelling. My ds labels his paper (M, T, W, Th, or F) along with the date. Each Monday I retest on all the words he missed the previous week. I set the timer for 5 minutes. Then I test him on any missed words and then give him the rule and test on the words in the list. Once he misses 3 words or we finished the list we stop. I don't do multiple lists. Then he follows the 10 steps that MFW lists. Then he does some kind of activity to help him remember the words. Recently, it is tossing a ball to me while spelling the word. If he misses the word on the next day's test, I will have him write it out 5 to 10 times in addition to doing all the above.

Just some encouragement - I let my copy of Spelling Power sit on the shelf for 2 years before I finally (finally!) sat down to read the quick guide (because we switched to MFW).

I am embarrassed that I waited so long, as it is a perfect fit for my daughter. I have the older edition so I did order the quickstart dvd, and that helped a bunch. I personally benefited from watching the example of how to do it.

Spelling Power is another of those MFW recommendations that made me think "huh?", but am so glad I went with it...our family continues to be blessed by every aspect of MFW.

I realize that you don't read the whole book in order to be able to use Spelling Power. I'd still like to encourage those who are using Spelling Power to not forget to look at the rest of the book at some point after the routine is easy to do. You don't have to read the whole thing to get started. But, there is a lot of really good stuff in the book that is extra.

Spelling Power has a lot of stuff in it with dictionary skills, and ideas for games, and ideas to help your child learn about proofreading. There are extra teaching tips as well for when your child seems stuck
But yes, you can ignore the Appendix A with all of the research. :)

The arrangement of the 4th edition is so much better than 3rd edition. Once you have learned the program, go back to the Table of Contents and look for some chapters that look interesting to read.

Yes, I am bringing this topic up again. So, we're on day 15 of our spelling program and I'm putting it away. I am going to go ahead and order Spelling Power. I'm so bummed that it didn't work out for us. My son is way too much of a perfectionist I think, because he'd get SO disappointed whenever he'd misspell a word. I'd try to explain that he'd never even SEEN the word and that it was his first attempt so there is no reason to be discouraged.

I actually made him each time he would get upset after spelling a word wrong say what we called his motto, "Mistakes are opportunities to learn." I got it from the booklet and hung onto it. It usually made him laugh and he was able to shake it off a little bit, but altogether it just isn't working for us. He did learn, but it's just too painful to watch. I think there's a better fit for my son out there. I know Spelling Power has a "pretest." I think if I explained that we're just checking to see which ones to learn and which ones have been mastered, he should be ok.

Hopefully Spelling Power will be the one. Just wanted to mention it for anyone out there who is curious. Now I know I should have just gone with what MFW recommends. :-)

I will say Spelling Power is a good fit for my dd. My dd (7.5yo, 2nd grade) is somewhat a perfectionist (gets it from Mom), but I explained to her that this is how we find words she doesn't know, and we only study words she doesn't know. (It also helps me not be hard on her.)

1. Do stop when you miss 3. I've tried 4 or 5, but she can't retain that many between days. 3 seems to be the perfect number.

2. Do the "big arm motions in the air" and "writing on a textured surface" steps (we use a pillow on our sofa that has really good texture).

3. Do help them learn how to study their words. Right now I help her study her words. I walk her through each step. We talk aloud about each word. What's special about it? What is different about it? I figure doing that this year will prepare her for doing it more on her own next year.

Also, there is a step where you say the word and spell it out loud - we usually do this 3 times, instead of just once. Sometimes just once isn't enough for her to get the "rhythm" of the word. (For example, "blue" - she would say ue, but then when we did the next step she would say/write eu. So, saying it 3 times seems to help it stick better.)

I agree with giving the list first if there is a problem with missing words. My son hated spelling and is not a very good speller. He uses too much logic rather than remembering how it is spelled. In other words, his mistakes make sense in terms of how he hears the word, and sometimes phonics rules, but still they are incorrect. He also has a terrible memory for spelling! If I remind him to remember how he studied it, he often remembers correctly. Otherwise it is like he has never seen it before!

He is improving though, I think because SP does work for him. When he does learn a word, he seems to really learn it solidly after the initial struggle(: Spelling used to be a subject he hated, but now it is one of his favorites.
Again, you need to do what works for your child.
I also use cheapo spiral notebooks.

I can try to talk a bit about Spelling Power. SP is a one time purchase for all students in all grades from about 3rd and up.

Begin to use it after the student is about 3rd grade age and you've done phonics program to learn to read. SP recommends its technique for about ages 8 or 9 and up. It can be used with ages lower than that with modifications in the book. MFW recommends about 15 minutes a day on spelling, about 4 days per week.

SP suggests that students new to the program take a placement test in the book to determine the level of word list to work with. Level A is about 2nd grade... level B is about 3rd grade etc....

There are 11 "grade level" word list groupings.

In each of those levels, SP takes the student through a certain number of the 47 spelling rules groupings - both phonics based rules and other rules (like ness and ly as suffixes -- that kind of rule)
The words on the lists are grouped together by sound (or other lesson like suffixes)-- for example, when you are studying the sound "long i" - the words on the list are all long i words and will vary in possible spellings of long i. (bright, size).

So, that the basics of how SP is organized on word list.

SP is intended for use for about 15 minutes each day. 5-10 of it is teacher driven.

When you start a new rules group within your instructional grade level, you (mom/parent) teach or review the rule as written in the book, or you can grab your old phonics books for other hints.
Students writes the rule at the top of the paper.
Now, to study the words....for a few days before taking a test on the group word list to proceed to the next rule.

When the student starts a new rules group, SP recommends the student be given a "pre test" of the list. Words they already know how to spell, they don't have to keep studying. Some kids prefer to study them anyway. Some kids don't do the pre test assignment due to stress factors and such. My kids just did better to study the whole list. They liked it that way.

Then, once you have the list of words in that group rule to study, the student is taken through 10 steps of multisensory study techniques to practice the words. They learn to trace it in the air, say the spelling out loud, find the tricky part of the word that keeps them from getting that word right, and a few other things. That's explained both in MFW manual and SP manual in more detail.

Then the last 5 minutes or so -- they do extra activities with the words to reinforce spelling. For examples, SP offers a lot of options, but you might have them alphabetize the words, or look them up in dictionary, or do some kind of cheer to remember the word. SP encourages that each child should be doing something that is the strength of their learning style to help on that individual study time.

I've watched one of the moms at archery bring her SP book to archery class and can go through the list with 3 of her girls and then the girls have their study time with their lists. The mom is one of the organizers of the archery league, so she can't spend tons of time on spelling. The most time with the program is the "learning curve" time for about one week while you get the kids to do their work. The other intense part of it -- is the placement testing process. I like that MFW manual breaks that down to easier steps. so placement test initially might take some time to do that.

It was going to be overwhelming and TOO much work, I just know it!!!!!!!! I have 4 kids at different levels--this won't work. We actually enjoy it, all four kids. &)
Even my very reluctant student comes ready and willing to work. I had to tweak it a little to keep the other 3 busy and not wandering off. Which is another whole story. But we set the timer for 5 minutes and do short drills and practices if you are not the one testing. And they are making progress!!! Oh my!!!! "I like doing school this way" I have heard several times. Maybe next time I won't be so reluctant to follow a suggestion by the Hazells.
blessings to all in the journey
crystallea

we've just used the spiral notebook, but this year hubby wanted to bring home something from convention for them and the Spelling Power notebooks are what he chose. The kids were excited about it. Of course, mine are easily excited.

With 4 doing SP, we rotate activities. I start with DS who is the most reluctant, set timer for 5 minutes. the other 3 are drilling math facts in some way (we WILL learn them eventually), timer goes off, DS switching with DS and first one reviews, while testing. 2 DD are drilling math or reviewing spelling words. I know SP doesn't recommend reviewing before but for both girls it is successful. One son has incredible instant recalling and an amazing ability to forget it all 3 minutes later, so he must review after. Back to the schedule: I basically work my way through all four while the other three are doing some type of activity or drill. One son struggles with dyslexia, so he is doing eye exercises on some days. I figure throughout the year the activities will change to whatever is necessary.
It helps with all the reviewing that we never seem to get back to. I am planning on using some logic activities at some point. But the timer is what sets it apart, and makes it more fun and exciting. But my children are very easily entertained

another thought
I printed out several sheets from the CD, but when those are done we will use a spiral notebook. My children need the larger spaces, but can get through more than the lines allotted on the official pages. I also think it is probably cheaper when I buy the spiral notebooks at a back to school super sale, and I do like a bargain. We will continue for now to use the ten step page until it becomes more practiced. other ways we review are to write on dry wipe board, finger write on velvet stretched on a board, writing on a chalk board. I need to keep it all simple, without a bunch of pieces, so we don't have a large variety. But we've only done school for a week so far

Mexmarr wrote:I don't know anything about it. Are there daily lessons? Weekly lessons? Do you just start from the beginning and work through, or pick the topic you want to work on? It is teacher intensive or spelled out? What kind of lessons do the kids have? What is on the CD that is included? Do you recommend the task cards?

Assume I don't know anything about it. I have never even looked through it/ What should I know? DD is doing the Rod and staff 2nd grade spelling. I need to determine whether to continue that or switch to SP after she finishes 2nd grade.

First, there is a placement test, that determines what level you start at.

(Now, this is greatly simplified...)

Then, daily, you read words, child spells, until they miss 3, 5 minutes has passed, or you finish a list.
(I used 3 words, because my dd would get distressed if we went to 5.)
If the child missed words, they study them (there are steps to guide studying them).
Then, you can use the activity cards for the child to play games with the words he/she missed.
The next day, you begin with the words they missed the previous day, and then continue on.
My Father's World recommends that on Mondays, you retest ALL words missed the previous week, just to make sure they are retained.

Each list has a "phonics/spelling" rule that it covers. You want to make sure you study the rule and explain it. There are also further tests (end of level tests) to make sure the child is retaining.

It isn't that teacher intensive. Some students do have trouble with the idea of getting words "blind" without studying them first. You can make it a Study-Test-Study method, too. Seems to be a love/hate thing with SP.

I just have to say I LOVE Spelling Power! Actually my kids do for the most part too. It's so easy to incorporate into the day and is not teacher intensive at all. Trish summed it up perfectly, however I do actually go until they miss 5 words, because I read that when I started.

Just a little different experience...I used R&S Spelling with my 3rd grader last year only because he loved it and was able to complete it independently and I needed this last year(we had a tough year--surgery/moving/new Kindy kid/hubby in grad school--i'll stop there )...so I let him use it one more year.

kacairo1 wrote:Although I like the concept of the program, I'm not sure if it is the best fit for my daughter. Has anyone tried Spothers?

Hi, Kelly,

We used Abeka Spelling for a while. It's a very good, phonics-based program. However, since we've started using Spelling Power, I really like it a lot better. Not only because it focuses only on the words they don't know how to spell, but also because we can add words to the list throughout the school day that they may misspell in English, Writing, History, etc.

Our language is such a weird combination of Latin, Greek, French, Spanish.... teaching spelling isn't easy. There are a lot of great curriculums out there. I'm sure your family will find just the right one.

Melissa B. (Arkansas)
Girls ages 16 & 13
Completed K, 1st, and Investigate {ECC; CTG; RTR; Expl.-1850; and 1850-Mod. Times}"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,.." Titus 2:4

I like Spelling power. It worked great for my oldest who is a naturally good speller, but my younger daughter ( 8 at the time) didn't do very well with it. This year we are using the Megawords spelling curriculum.

abrightmom wrote:Does Spelling Power take 15m daily per student or is it taught one room schoolhouse style?

*** We currently use Rod & Staff's workbook spelling and while the kids can do some of it independently I do still spend time answering questions, working through more difficult sections and correcting. We only have to touch spelling 2 or 3 times a week though and it doesn't take more than about 15m daily altogether. My oldest student isn't using anything for spelling so the time I spend is for my 8 and 10 year olds. The 10 year old is a struggling speller and he needs to work on spelling. While I love Rod & Staff's spelling program my son doesn't seem to internalize what he's doing in the lessons or make the connections he should make. I like the idea of doing something more personalized that would target his struggles. While I admit that Spelling Power is intimidating (I confess that I simply don't understand how it works which is why I've never used it) I am intrigued by the possibility of teaching spelling once and keeping the focus of the lessons on what my kiddos need.

Spelling Power..
I have 3 kids using spelling power on different levels. It takes me 5 min per kid, I use a timer to be sure. Then they spend 10 doing the study portion and one task card. So yes, 15 min. No one room schoolhouse.

Thanks for replying! Sounds like Spelling Power is a "to the point" program and quite doable with 2+ students.

I have more questions ... The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right?!?!

Is it possible to summarize how it works or to list the steps taken in a week? Is it truly personalized and what does this mean? No random lists?

What are the Task Cards and how are they used?
What does Mom do with the student and what is done independently?
What is the work done on or in? A comp book? Notebook paper? I did see some Spelling Power notebooks on Rainbow Resource.
What methods are used? Phonograms? Dictation? Rules?

We currently use Rod & Staff spelling and we may stay with it another year if I don't get my arms around SP or feel that it will be too teacher intensive. Admittedly, I don't love any spelling program and find I have issues with all of them . Busy work abounds in many of these programs and I want to avoid that. I'm most interested in tailoring the spelling work to my kid's needs rather than just plunking them into a leveled, list/exercise based program. I don't do any spelling work with the oldest because he's a natural speller. Troubleshooting works best with him. The middlers need a bit of spelling help, but before I break the piggy bank to buy Spelling Power I have to understand if it will meet my needs (personal, tailored, flexible, needs based, effective tasks).

First, you have to do some testing to see where they place in the program. That's spelled out in every TM (usually around week 3 or so).

This is the routine daily: (You can use the SP workbooks or a regular spiral notebook. If you use a regular spiral notebook, fold the pages in half.)

Mom's involvement:
0. Have the student write the rule that is at the top of the list you are working on.
1. Set a timer for 5 minutes.
2. Call out the word, use it in a sentence, repeat the word.
3. Student spells it.
4. You call out spelling. If student misses the word, they cross it out and spell it correctly.
5. Stop when they miss 3 words (or 5, but start with 3), you hit the end of a list, or the time runs out.

Student:
1. Goes over each missed word with the 10 step check, to study the word.
2. Writes the words missed in the sentences.
3. Uses a task card with the words missed.

Now, the next day, after they write the rule, you start with the words missed. If you are going to a new list, start with the missed words, then state the new rule, and then continue on with the new list.

I kept a separate sheet to track my dd's words she missed, and every Monday, we would start with all the words she missed the previous week.

Why aren't you using it now? Natural spellers? Did you find the method effective? I HONESTLY wonder how effective spelling programs are because I *think* that some kiddos just learn to spell as they read, write, use words, make corrections, etc.

I may take a year off of spelling completely and see how we do with the "natural" approach …. I'm THIS close ….

Two of my kids are dyslexic, and need direct instruction on spelling. I use all about spelling, which is very teacher intensive, but it has been very good for my kids. I have one kid that I am going to try spelling power with as soon as he completes this next level of all about spelling - he is not dyslexic, and seems to pick up spelling more naturally.